1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to bottle openers and more specifically to a pivoted level bottle cap remover particularly adapted to remove and retain after removal crown seal bottle caps, of the kind commonly used as sealing closures for beverage bottles.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Many types and styles of bottle cap openers for removing crown seal bottle caps of the type used to close narrow necked beverage obttles are known in the prior art. These devices have included the common lever type opener which is operated by the user holding the bottle in one hand. This opener includes a protruding tab that engages the bottom edge of the crimped flange of the cap and a relatively flat crown engaging portion extending outwardly above the tab which engages the cap crown whereby the cap may be pried off of the bottle.
Other types of bottle openers have been proposed which are of the pivoted lever type. These openers function in essentially the same manner as the lever type wherein one of the pivoted levers engages the underneath edge of the crimped flange of the bottle cap, and the other of the pivoted levers engages the crown or top surface of the bottle cap. The pivoted lever members are squeezed together and the cap is pried by the action of the squeezing of the levers to remove the bottle cap from the bottle.
Examples of such pivoted lever bottle cap openers are shown in U. S. Pats. Nos. 1,690,982; 2,548,634; 2,551,511; 2,592,679; 2,593,358; 2,757,561. Each of the bottle cap openers of these prior art constructions have several inherent disadvantages. First, they tend to distort or crease the top or crown of the cap during the cap removal operation. Thus, it is extremely inconvenient and in some cases impossible to recap a bottle by using the cap that has been removed because the cap has been creased or distorted during removal. Such recapping is frequently desirable when the contents of the bottle are only partially used and it is desired to save the unused contents for later usage.
Secondly, all of these devices operate in positions that are at right angles as to the axis of the bottle. This requires a somewhat awkward and inconvenient orientation of the hands of the person opening the bottle during the bottle opening procedure.
Additionally, it is desirable that upon removal of the cap from the bottle that it be retained in a positive manner by the opener and at the same time not distort the removed cap shape in the crown area thereof.
Accordingly, there is a need for an easily used convenient bottle cap opener for removing crown seal bottle caps from bottles which will permit operation with the hands of the user in natural oriented opposed fashion, and which will positively grip the removed cap without distorting the crown of the cap.